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The production of wool as a raw material is an integral and crucial part of the Kvadrat culture of sustainability.
Over 141,400 people are employed in agriculture and forestry in New Zealand and it is estimated that there are 6 sheep of every human in Australia and Kvadrat source their wool from these regions for two reasons: the farms are dedicated to sustainable farming and they produce the most consistently high quality wool.
The sheep that Kvadrat wool comes from are crossbred, such as Border Leicester and Dorset, and bred for both their meat and their wool. Kvadrat looks for durable but resilient wool quality that is soft but not too much so and these sheep produce wool that is the right fibre length, thickness, and durable for their needs.
The sheep are sheared once a year with each fleece weighing around 4 kilos in weight, and skilled shearers will travel from farm to farm to perform the sought after task that requires a specific skill set and can take up to a week to get through all of the sheep at a single farm.
Each fleece is then graded to determine its worth based on its fibre diameter, crimp, yield, colour, and strength before being baled and sold at a local wool auction. Each bale also has a barcode that allows the wool to be traced back to its farm of origin, a crucial part of understanding the supply chain.
Before being shipped the wool is then cleaned in a scouring process which removes all of the dust and dirt that the fleece gathered on the farm and is where the wool starts to become more recognisable as yarn as it loses its initial roughness.
